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Tennessee Titans release running back Chris Johnson

Associated Press

Posted:
04/04/2014 08:21:54 PM PDT

Updated:
04/04/2014 10:30:05 PM PDT

The Tennessee Titans told Chris Johnson they're releasing the running back to avoid paying $8 million that he's due in 2014, along with the final three seasons left on the $53.5 million contract he signed in September 2011.

"We made an effort to trade Chris but were unable to do so," general manager Ruston Webster said Friday.

Johnson is just the sixth player to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his first six seasons. But he's fallen far short of the 2,006-yard season he had in 2009. He finished last season with 1,077 yards, averaging just 3.9 yards per carry.

A source says coach John Fox agreed to a new three-year contract with Denver. The deal runs through 2016. G.M. John Elway said in February that Fox would get a new contract this offseason. Fox overcame a heart operation in November to lead the Broncos to the Super Bowl.

Champ Bailey agreed to a two-year contract with New Orleans. The 35-year-old cornerback played the last 10 seasons with Denver after spending five seasons with Washington. Bailey was selected to 12 Pro Bowls but missed 11 games last season because of a left foot sprain.

The Raiders signed former Stanford punter Daniel Zychlinski in a move designed to give incumbent Marquette King a break during offseason workouts and the team insurance in case King gets injured. Zychlinski averaged 43.1 yards on 66 punts as a senior in 2012. King led the league at 48.9 yards per punt in his first season replacing Shane Lechler.

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Former Cal running back Justin Forsett, who spent last season in Jacksonville, signed with Baltimore. He joins Bernard Pierce behind Ray Rice on the depth chart. The Ravens also signed former Houston tight end Owen Daniels to a one-year deal.

College football

Players from other school have expressed interest in forming unions in the wake of the last week's decision involving the Northwestern team, a union organizer said. Tim Waters of the United Steelworkers wouldn't disclose the players or schools. A regional director of the National Labor Relations Board declared that Northwestern's players have the right to form a union. Northwestern players will vote April 25 on whether to become the first college athletes represented by a union. The NLRB ruling applies only to private schools. Public schools are covered by state labor laws.

Eugenie Bouchard won five of the last six games to upset Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the Family Circle Cup quarterfinals in Charleston, S.C. The Canadian plays Andrea Petkovic on Saturday. Also, teenager Belinda Bencic ousted Sara Errani 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 and will play Jana Cepelova.

Motor sports

Chase Elliott claimed his first NASCAR Nationwide Series win, using a strong pass of Kevin Harvick at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The 18-year-old won in his sixth career start. Elliott was second behind Harvick on the final restart with 23 laps to go. He flirted several times with making a pass and completed the move with an outside pass and never looked back at the 1.5-mile oval. Kyle Busch was second, followed by Kyle Larson and Harvick.

Michael Schumacher is showing "moments of consciousness and awakening," more than three months after suffering serious head injuries in a skiing accident in the French Alps, the retired Formula One star's manager said. Schumacher, 45, hit his head on a rock Dec. 29. Doctors operated to remove blood clots from his brain, and he was placed in a drug-induced coma. In late January, doctors began the process of withdrawing sedatives to try to wake him up.